Against All Odds
by Mirah the Mad Catter
Summary: Complete repost. Same plot, better writing this time around. Reviews greatly appreciated (and returned).
1. Change of Plans

Author's Note: This is a repost of the fanfic "Against All Odds". For those of you who've read the fic before, I'd be thrilled if you reread it and threw in some feedback. For those of you who haven't, read! This version is the revamped version of the old Against All Odds. Hopefully better. Author's Notes and Disclaimers will be in the last chapter, marked accordingly on the menu FF.Net has so nicely provided.   
My flaming policy still applies. Flaming is unecessary. Just tell me what you think in nice, humane language and I'll understand. That said, onward!

  
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Something was amiss. Usually quite sedentary and lazy, the human was rushing around the small flat putting articles of clothing into a small, hard box and moving things from one place to another, all the while talking to himself. 

Plato sat on the bed watching all the activity with wonder. What the devil was he doing?? The human gave him a pat on the head as he passed, still putting things into the box. He'd never been so active before, what was going on? 

"Hello?" came a soft voice from the windowsill. Plato looked up to see Victoria perched there. 

"Hi! C'mon down, he's too busy t' notice.." 

The white female complied, leaping down from the sill and taking up perch next to the tomcat. 

"What's he doing?" she asked curiously. 

"I dunno. I think e's going someplace, but I dunno where. Just as long as he remembers to put out enough food and nip for me, I don't mind." 

Victoria looked at him critically. "Plato, you know I worry about you. Catnip's not good for you. It impairs your judgement, fries your brain--" 

"We only use ten percent of it anyway. Relax, Vicky. I'd never go out and do something stupid while up on catnip. You know me. I can take care of myself." 

Victoria sighed. "It still bothers me. I'd hate to see you hurt yourself." 

Plato sighed and opened his mouth to say something as the human closed the box and put it near the door, picking up the tomcat and placing him under his arm. 

"Wha??" Plato protested. "_I'm_ not going!" 

Victoria laughed. "Be careful, Plato!" 

"Vicky, tell the guys I'll be back in a few weeks, and if I'm not, t' send the coast guard!!" 

"Alright, have a great trip!" 

*~*~*

Plato yawned and stretched as the little boat rocked gently. The sun beat down hot on his back and tomcat got up to find refuge in the shade of the galley. His human was already there bumbling around in the kitchen. When Plato leapt up onto the counter, he was rewarded with a scratch behind the ears. 

"It's off to find some big fish for us, Tiger." 

Plato cringed at the nickname, glad Victoria wasn't here to hear it. The tomcat mewed loudly, asking for dinner. His human complied, tossing him a bit of whatever it was he was making. Plato wolfed it down hungrily and mewed again. 'That's all??' he seemed to say. The human laughed and tossed him the rest. His belly full, Plato turned around on the top bunk and fell asleep once more. 

*~*~*

He awoke a few hours later as the galley gave a sharp jolt. Annoyed, Plato looked up and glared around the room. The boat pitched again, sending the tomcat flying off the top bunk, landing on his feet rather clumsily on the floor. What the devil...? 

The human was in the wheelhouse fighting with the controls. Outside, the weather had turned ugly, sending ten foot waves crashing against the side of the boat. Plato was soaked and annoyed by the time he rushed into the wheelhouse. The sky was a dark, steely gray and the rain battered the windows of the small room. A strike of lightning made both human and cat's hair stand up on end. 

Before he could dash back into the galley, rough hands seized Plato and he was unceremoniously tossed into a small boat. The rain was sharp and stung their eyes as the human jumped into the boat and started rowing. As they got far enough away, human and cat watched what was left of their home on the sea disappear into the black. Plato gave an inaudible sigh. He didn't quite understand, being a cat, but he knew that they were in trouble. The tiny lifeboat was filling with water rapidly, already swirling around Plato's legs. Then, the lightning struck, and the human was gone. Plato dashed to the side of the boat to see him trying to stay afloat in the foaming water. When he disappeared underwater, he didn't come up again. Plato knew little about humans, but his had been down too long, and humans couldn't breathe without air. Curling up into a miserable ball, the tomcat took refuge underneath one of the seats and hoped to Heaviside he'd live to see the morning. 

*~*~*

A bird squawked once, twice. Plato opened burning eyes to see a bright sun glaring at him from overhead. 

"Must be near noon..." 

As soon as Plato sat up, the bird took off, squawking again loudly. Bright white sand stretched out in front of Plato, disappearing into a thick grove of trees. Behind him, turquoise water stretched out as far as the eye could see, with dots of white marring the top of it here and there. 

Plato groaned and hauled his sore self out of the boat, landing clumsily onto the hot sand below. With a yowl, he dove into the water to cool his burning feet. Laughter rang out from somewhere to his right. Plato's gaze flew to the right, only to see a queen smirking at him from a few yards away. 

Plato blinked. Surely there wasn't another living soul on the island. But the queen was there. He started toward her and she dodged backward, rushing off into the grove of trees. Odd... Dizzy from swallowing too much seawater and the pressing heat above him, Plato stumbled into the forest, only to come upon a tiny lake, fed by a waterfall a few hundred feet above. Filling his belly with the water, the tomcat collapsed into an exhausted sleep underneath one of the palms. 

When he awoke again, it was dusk, and the small pool had turned a cerulean blue under the pink sky. 

"Wonder where that queen got off to..." Plato mumbled to himself, beginning to doubt he'd even ever seen her. Stumbling out of the forest, he saw a bonfire near his boat, and the queen hunched over in front of it. When he approached, she jumped up and backed away again. 

"Whoa, wait..." Plato called, stretching out a paw involuntarily. "Who're you??" 

The queen stared and Plato decided on a different strategy, pointing a finger at himself. 

"Plato." the queen followed suit. 

"Hukilau." 

"Don't you speak English??" 

"Of course I speak English! Don't you??" the queen demanded and Plato stared. 

"Um...my apologies. I just thought..you know, by the way you jumped up and all..." 

"...That I was a native, right? Yeah..." grumbled the queen as she sat back down at the fire. "Not even close. I'm from _America_." 

Plato grinned. "I'm from London." he paused. "Can I join you?" 

The queen looked up at him. "Might as well, seein' as you're stuck here. Plenty to go around." she threw Plato an uncooked rat and stuck her own over the fire. "Don't get used to it. You're on your own from now on." 

Plato sighed and nodded. Some company. 

*~*~*

The morning came too quickly, and Plato awoke to find himself lying on a palm frond in the sand with a rough blanket over his shoulders. Opening his eyes, he saw another frond and another blanket folded on top of it, but Hukilau was nowhere to be seen. Off hunting again, Plato suspected. He might as well do the same, and take a good look at the island while he was at it. 

Halfway around the island, he saw Hukilau stalking something. Plato crouched down in the sand to watch. Hukilau stayed perfectly still, until Plato began to suspect there was really nothing there. Then without warning, the female pounced and a flurry of white exploded. Disappearing briefly into the mess, the dying call of a gull could be heard from where Plato sat and she reappeared moments later, a bird between her teeth and looking quite proud of herself. Plato had to chuckle to himself. The queen had spunk. Deciding to follow her, Plato got up and walked a few hundred yards behind her, catching glimpses of the yellow coat here and there. He followed her all the way back to the small camp they'd made and watched her drop the bird into the sand near the ash of the fire. He noticed her look toward where he'd been lying and notice his absense. Hukilau spun around to see the tomcat sauntering toward her. 

"Been off hunting?" he asked casually. 

"Yup." she said, beginning to claw the feathers off the gull. 

"Catch much?" he asked dumbly. 

"Besides the gull, not much." Hukilau sniffed and looked up at the tom in disdain. "You need a bath, boy."

Plato laughed. "I guess I do. Care to join me?" 

The queen rolled her eyes non-discreetly. "No thanks. I suggest you go hunting first. I told you you're on your own." 

The tomcat shrugged and made his way to the pool he'd seen.

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	2. The Calm and the Storm

Author's Note: Alright, folks, you know the drill. Read, review and be merry, and the flaming policy applies as usual. Thanks to all who've reviewed, credits are given where credits are due in A/N and Disclaimer chapter at the end. Thanks again! Read on, MacDuff....

  
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A few days passed, and the two castaways lived in relative comfort with each other, though not much conversation was exchanged. At best, the mood was somewhat strained, neither having much to say to the other. Neither cat minded having company, yet at the same time felt they'd be better off alone. The most conversation that passed between them consisted of comments over whatever they'd caught that day or random banter about the animals found on the island. 

Hukilau's hair began to grow quite long and become matted and dull. She refused to do anything about it until Plato brought it up one morning as they were sharing one of the last seagulls Hukilau had caught for breakfast. 

"Your hair's a mess." he said bluntly, staring at Hukilau's mess of a coat. 

"So??" 

"Want a haircut?" 

"And how do you plan to do that--with your teeth?" 

"I will if you want me to." Plato said suggestively and Hukilau's jaw dropped into the sand. "But I can also use a knife if you'd prefer." Plato finished before she could hit him. The queen looked relieved and smirked. 

"You have a _knife_?? When were you planning t' _use_ it??" 

Plato grinned. "I figured we were doin' fine on our own. It's in the bag with the boat I washed up in. So how 'bout it? Want me to cut that mop off you?" 

Hukilau scowled and looked slightly offended for a moment. "I guess so." she said at last. Plato grinned and got to his feet. Hukilau saw him lift up the overturned boat and retrieve a canvas bag, taking the knife in its scabbard out of it. Returning to his spot and unsheathing the thing, Plato gestured at her and the queen eyed the knife apprehensively. 

"Oh c'mon, I'm not gonna stab you with it, just cut your hair. _Come on._" Plato urged and Hukilau grinned, plopping down in the sand in front of him. For the next hour or so, Plato gingerly cut through the matted mess, apologizing when the queen winced at the tugs. As soon as the last knot was cut away and the sand littered with the golden fur, Hukilau shook the last furballs free and took off toward the water. Plato could hear her whooping and hollering as she went. 

"I'm _FREE, _free at last!!" she cried and dove into the water. Plato stared. 

"Well, I'll be!" he got up and stood at the water's edge yelling at her, the knife still in his paws. "A cat who _likes_ water?? You're nuts, girl!" 

Hukilau dove in and out of the waves, freeing herself of the rest of the hair and then back onto the beach to shake the brine out of her fur. Plato dodged the freezing droplets and grinned. Her fur had a kind of sheen to it, now that the mats were gone. Kinda pretty, really. 

"I was born in water, why shouldn' I?" Hukilau asked and sprayed the tom with the water. "You should try it. But not with that knife in your paws." 

Plato remembered the knife and, picking up the scabbard from where he'd dropped it into the sand, re-sheathed the thing. "Nah, I like to keep my feet on the ground--er, sand, thanks very much." Plato said seriously. Hukilau shrugged and turned away on the pretense of returning to the water. Plato turned his back as well, returning the knife to its bag in the safety of the overturned lifeboat. As soon as he turned around, he found the queen standing in front of him, an odd smirk on her face. 

"What??" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "Waitaminute--" 

Hukilau started toward him and Plato dodged. "I _said_ I didn' wanna get we--!!" The queen pounced and the two hit the sand, Plato's entire front soaked in the cold seawater. "Now see whatcha did!" Plato cried, rolling around in the sand to warm his fur. "That's _cold!_" 

Hukilau laughed. "I'm _melting, I'm melting!!" _she teased, sinking to her knees. 

"Yeah??" Plato taunted, starting toward her. 

"Yeah--uh oh.." 

Now it was Hukilau's turn to run. Quickly catching up to her, Plato threw the queen over his shoulder like a burlap sack and carried her toward the water's edge, tossing her in. For a second, the queen disappeared under the waves and didn't reappear. Plato stared at the water edgily as a golden mass burst out and knocked him down. For a second, the two cats just lay in the sand catching their breath. After a few minutes, Plato rolled onto his side to eye the queen. 

"Ever wonder what would happen if we never got off this island?" 

Hukilau laughed. "It's way to early to be getting suicidal, boy!" 

"No, I mean...what if we never did get off? Who'd be around to tell the tale?" 

Hukilau faltered. "You mean....posterity?" 

Plato grinned and shrugged, looking skyward innocently. Hukilau didn't answer and he looked back at her. 

"Can't say I have..." she said nervously, avoiding his gaze. "'Scuse me..." she got up out of the sand and headed toward the forest without another word. Plato looked after her and sighed. 

"Oops." 

*~*~*

Hukilau didn't return for most of the day. Plato busied himself with constructing a makeshift shelter out of the palm fronds and the shreds of what was left of the rope he'd washed ashore in. In a few hours, he'd constructed a rather sturdy awning of fronds and the rope, strung between several trees. Tossing two more fronds down on the sand, the tom stood back to eye the thing critically. Despite their lack of resources, the shelter would keep out the rain, but wind was another story. He hoped they wouldn't be encountering any midsummer storms while they were here. 

The sun was going down, and sky was a bright pink over the island. Hukilau returned, a gull in her mouth and another on her back. Dropping the birds near the fire, she started to get the embers going again. Plato joined her just as the flames started up again. There was a good-sized gash on her shoulder, and it was coated in sand. Plato cleared his throat uncomfortably. 

"How'd that happen?" 

"Let's just say the gulls weren't too happy to see me again." Hukilau said drily, and Plato laughed. 

"It'll need t' be cleaned. There's stuff in the bag." 

"Dun' worry 'bout it. It'll heal." 

"Or get rotten and make your shoulder fall off. Feel like risking it?" 

Hukilau looked up and thought about this. "Fine. Get me the stuff and I'll clean it." she said sullenly, and Plato sighed. 

"As you wish." 

A/N: Mwaha! Anybody remember the Princess Bride? Sorry, I hadda make a reference somewhere..

The gulls were cooked and steaming and Hukila took them off of the flames as Plato returned with the first aid bag. She tossed one of them to Plato, who looked at her gratefully before tucking into his. Hukilau rummaged through the med bag, eyeing the tubes and bandages oddly. 

"What's this??" she asked, holding up an oddly shaped package. 

"Gauze bandage. For bloody, falling off, infected wounds." Plato teased. Hukilau stuck out her tongue. 

"And this??" 

"Neosporin?? Never heard of it?" 

"Nope, whaddoes it do?" 

"It's just a disinfecting cream." 

The tomcat finished off the bird and tossed the bones into the sand. Picking up a brown bottle, he poured some of the clear liquid onto a bandage and pressed it to the queen's shoulder. 

"Ow! What th--??" she cried and batted at Plato's paw. 

"Relax. It stings 'cause it's working." 

"It still hurts!" 

Plato ignored the griping and replaced the bandage with a fresh one with neosporin, wrapped it around Hukilau's shoulder, taped it off and sat back to eye his handiwork. 

"I believe you're going t' live." 

"Thanks, doc." 

"I'll send you my bill in the mail. Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" 

"Feels like my shoulder's falling off." 

"It would've if it handn't been cleaned." Plato lectured. Hukilau smirked and rolled her eyes and nothing more was said. The queen finished off her gull,tossed the bones into the fire and flopped back into the sand with a contented sigh. 

"If I didn't think we were stranded here ferever, I'd think this was paradise." she said with a smile, staring at the first stars. Plato grinned and followed suit, flopping onto his back with his feet in the opposite direction as hers. 

"I bet it is, we just have a warped idea of what heaven is." 

Hukilau laughed and pointed out the constellation Draco. Already a dark navy blue was settling over the sky. Plato pointed out Aquarius and Gemini. 

"They get along, y' know." 

"Who?" 

"Aquarius and Gemini. Lifelong friends." 

"Hmm...what about Aquarius and Leo?" 

"Loyal lovers 'til the end, or so Jennyanydots told me." 

"Who?" Hukilau craned her head to stare at Plato's ears above her. 

"One of the older queens back where I live. Never in your life will ya meet a kinder, gentler queen. She was like a surrogate mother to all of us kits." 

Hukilau smiled. "A midwife?" 

"You bet, and a hell of a midwife at that." Plato sighed and rested his head in his paws. "Makes me sad t' think I'll never get off this little island to see 'er again." 

The pair fell silent, staring at the darkening sky. 

"I didn't mean to run off like that...sorry if I offended you." Hukilau said suddenly. Plato grinned boyishly. 

"Nah. Dun worry 'bout it." 

Hukilau smiled and drifted off to sleep, leaving Plato to stargaze for a while longer before following suit. The fire burned down to just glowing coals and the sky grew to a deep navy. 

*~*~*

When Hukilau awoke, one of the blankets was over her shoulders and the sun was high in the sky. She'd stayed warm and comfortable in the morning sun. Plato was nowhere in sighed. Getting up out of the sand with a stretch, the queen shook the sand out of her now-short fur and headed toward the pond. 

Plato wasn't there either when she arrived. A bath would be so nice after spending a night in the sand. Removing the necklace of tiny seashells and the necklace of hemp from around her neck and placing them under the safety of a palm, Hukilau waded into the clear water and sighed. Having spent her entire childhood surrounded by water, swimming came as naturally as breathing. Swimming into the middle of the pool, the queen began to tread water and work the kinks out of her muscles. 

Plato entered the clearing and glanced up to see Hukilau in the middle of the pond. Blushing a deep red, he dodged behind a tree, not meaning to interrupt her swimming. Peeking out again, he saw her back was to him and she was swimming toward the falls. He spotted her necklaces lying in a heap under a tree a few feet away and took them in his paws, a mischievous grin appearing on his face. Disappearing into the brush, the tom began to make his way up the side of the cliff to the top of the falls. 

Hukilau continued treading water, unaware of the tom preparing his attack from the top of the falls. Muscles warmed up, she began to swim small laps around the pool. 

At the top of the falls, Plato looked down at the pool and sighed. _It's just water, don't look, just jump._ Plato backed away from the edge. Not that he didn't enjoy a good soaking every once in a while. Still, it _was_ a long way down...

Hukila had just completed a third lap when something hit the water next to her with a large splash. She gasped and dove away to see Plato surfacing. The tom laughed and treaded water. 

"Plato!! You could've killed yourself!!" Hukilau cried, looking at the ledge at the top of the falls. 

"Nah, the pool's deep enough.." Plato shrugged off the comment callously. Hukilau glared. 

"Since when do you come barging in on ladies when they're bathing??" she demanded. Plato grinned evilly. 

"I try to make it a habit, actually." Hukilau scowled and headed out of the water, stopping as she noticed the missing jewelery. 

"Where're my necklaces??" she asked, turning to face Plato. The latter shrugged. "Seriously, where are they??" 

"Got me." 

"Plato, if you don't give me back my necklaces, I'll--" 

"Yeah??" Plato asked, looking interested. 

"I'll, uh....I'll push you under!"

"You wouldn' dare!" 

"Wouldn't I??" Hukilau waded back out and approached the tom, who grinned at her. Too late. He was underwater before he knew it and came up gasping. 

"You!" 

Hukilau laughed and started to swim back to shore, but too slowly. Plato caught her by the ankle and grabbed her around the waist, swimming back out the middle. 

"Lemme go!" Hukilau struggled to no avail, laughing too hard. The pair went under the falls, still laughing. It was strangely quiet behind the waterfall and the struggling pair went silent, listening to the water. 

"Stop kicking." Plato said quietly. 

"But you'll--" 

"Just relax. I've gotcha." 

Hukilau obliged and Plato treaded water for the two of them, one arm around her waist, the other helping tread. 

"See?" 

Hukilau took in a nervous breath. "Will....will you give me back my necklaces now?" She turned her head to look at the tom through one eye. 

"Yes." 

"You will?" 

"Yes. I will." 

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(Author's note: Ooh...double meanings! Whoo-hoo! Chapter Two out of the way! So, so? Good, bad or totally horrible and worthy of only the fires of hell? (Ouch...)  
Anyway, what do you think of the repost? After reading the old version a few times, I decided I could do better than that. Hopefully, it is better. If not, hey, I tried. On to chapter three!)


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